Accidentally Aligned: Transformational Culture, Versus a Culture of Managing Waste Efficiently

In 1963, Peter Drucker highlighted the importance of efficiency in his Harvard Business Review article, stating, "There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all." This timeless principle transcends time and authorship, focusing on the essence of the message. While businesses excel at managing waste efficiently, identifying leaders who prevent waste from occurring is a more intricate task. Quantifying avoided waste is challenging as it involves establishing and maintaining robust standards. My challenge to organizations is to recognize and appreciate leaders who prevent waste proactively. Acknowledge their value and empower them to continue their impactful contributions that often go unnoticed during transitional phases.

In Dan Heath's book, Upstream, we see this story: "You and a friend are having a picnic by the side of a river. Suddenly you hear a shout from the direction of the water – a child is drowning. Without thinking, you both dive in, grab the child, and swim to shore. Before you can recover, you hear another child cry for help. You and your friend jump back in the river to rescue her as well. Then another struggling child drifts into sight…and another…and another. The two of you can barely keep up. Suddenly, you see your friend wading out of the water, seeming to leave you alone. “Where are you going?” you demand. Your friend answers, “I’m going upstream to tackle the guy who’s throwing all these kids in the water.""

We read this and it is clear that these are the right things to do. The question that needs to be asked is, as leaders, are we building the culture to recognize and appreciate the ones that are doing it, or do we build our cultures to recognize and reward those that are more efficient at removing the children from the water.

This is an important question that we all must ask ourselves. Culture can be defined as whatever the most powerful people in an organization are willing to tolerate.

What are you willing to tolerate? Amidst organizational changes, the transition can be cumbersome, causing individuals championing transformational improvement to be overlooked. This is unfortunate and expensive to an organization. I would propose that the true value of a bad culture cannot be estimated. Maybe you know one of these unsung heroes. My challenge today is to let them know that they are appreciated and valued.

Let's make tomorrow better than today.